Mhada to build 1 lakh affordable homes in the MMR

To catch up with the growing demand for affordable homes in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) — as more people choose to buy homes in Thane and Navi Mumbai — the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) has identified 450 hectares of government land there to build more than one lakh affordable houses. There will hardly be any expenditure on land, so the prices of the houses will be less.

Mhada is also buying land from private landlords. But this plan may not be very popular because many landlords insist payment in cash, which is not possible for Mhada. Another drawback is, even if Mhada purchases the plot, the apartments will be costlier because the land cost would be added to the sale component. In the past eight years of Mhada resuming the sale of affordable homes, the response has been overwhelming. More than 13 lakh applicants have tried their luck for the 19,711 houses put up on sale block.